Usher

8701

Where's The Soul?

Review Score:

(6/10)
Before Justin Timberlake was jockin' Micheal Jacksons style, Usher was doing it in 2001 with his 3rd album '8701'. Its much longer than 'My Way', but equally reliant on all the flavas of the month. Its quite obvious that this kid wants to take the R&B crown by any means necessary.

He has a nice style & voice, but his image, videos and overall vibe are too strong on the MJ tip and he comes off as being too much of a wannabe. Still, this album does have a lot of highlights. 'Pop Ya Coller' is a great jam, and 'U Remind Me' and 'U Got It Bad' are other good grooves. 'Twork It Out' is the real killer, a smooth track, and other tunes like the deep bass 'Good Ole Ghetto' also work. He throws in a few soft cuts, but also fails to filter out the clutter. The album is slowed down midway by some pointless cuts that are all basically sound-a-likes of singles by Kelis and Pink, etc that were big at the time. (In keeping with his inability to develop his own style)

Overall this is a fun album. Usher uses the producers of the moment (Neptunes, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis), relies heavily on all the sounds of the moment, and serves up a good enough album even if it lacks originality or substance. Its no wonder the kids of today like it so much. Usher is an artist who might improve as he eventually matures, but if he keeps chasing the current fads with each new album then his career wont last much longer.

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